Sina hospital is located about two kilometers from Tehran Grand Bazaar
A hospital in Tehran was accidentally hit by tear gas on Tuesday during clashes between protesters and security forces on the tenth day of protests in Iran, Iranian news agency ISNA reported.
“To disperse the crowd, tear gas was used on the street adjacent to the hospital” Sina, located in the center of the Iranian capital, writes the agency, after images went viral on social media.
“The protesters’ natural reflex was to move away” from the gas and “therefore, part of these substances were unintentionally directed to the hospital”, ISNA said on Tuesday night, citing a statement from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Sina hospital is located about two kilometers from Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, the country’s economic lung and the scene of incidents on Tuesday between protesters and police, who used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
It is the first time since the movement began on December 28 that such clashes have occurred during the day and in central Tehran, where sporadic demonstrations without serious incidents occurred mainly at night, according to local media.
These demonstrations, initially against the high cost of living, began to include political demands and spread to the rest of the country.
In western Iran, several hundred kilometers from Tehran, deadly clashes have been reported in recent days. This is the case of Malekshahi, a county with around 20 thousand inhabitants, where an important Kurdish population lives.
At least one police officer and one member of the security forces were killed.
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian requested on Monday the opening of an investigation following a first incident at a hospital where protesters and law enforcement clashed, according to non-governmental organizations.
